Parent Guide

Dear Parents,

Welcome to Pack 24 of South Attleboro, member of the Boy Scouts of America Narragansett Council. We have put this guide together in hopes that it will help you be more informed with what being part of the Pack 24 family is like, and to give you all the necessary guidance to be prepared and successful.

We want your feedback! Let us know how we can make this guide better by sending us an email from our Contact page.

-Your Pack 24 Parent Committee

Information for Parents and Families:

The Cub Scouting program is centered around building character, learning citizenship, and developing personal fitness. In Pack 24, our Parent Volunteers maintain that focus and of the 12 steps of the Scout Law in all the events and activities we do. Uniquely family-focused, this great group of scouts, siblings, parents, and other adult partners all work together to make the most of the scouting program. All are welcome in on the adventures we share, we encourage sibling participation, and parents you are what makes it all happen!

Scouts are organized by school grade. Each grade works together in ‘Dens’ of 5-10, led by up to two parent volunteers, and meet weekly up to 3 times a month. It is in these groups that the scouts work together toward earning achievements as part of scout ‘adventures’. These achievements, in the form of belt loops or pins, together form the requirements for earning their rank at the end of the year. See the Advancement tab for more details.

Once a month, all of the dens, grades 1-5, come together for our monthly Pack meeting at our Charter Organization, St. Theresa of the Child Jesus Paris. Here, we have activities and ceremonies centered around a selected element of the Scout Law, awards and recognition are presented ceremoniously, and many special events and activities are part of these meetings throughout the year.

These core elements are supplemented by many additional activities throughout the year. In everything we do, our motto and sole requirement for being a member of Cub Scouts and Pack 24 is to DO YOUR BEST!

Registration:

Registering to become a Cub Scout is done on paper forms available from the cubmaster or any member of the volunteer committee. These forms are then submitted by the committee to the Narragansett Council for processing. Once paperwork is initially processed the Pack renews your membership in November of each year for the following Calendar (Jan-Dec) year. In other words, once a scout always a scout!

Fees:

A Scout is Thrifty and in Pack 24 we believe in teaching our scouts how to support the activities we do through fund raising. This allows us to keep the direct fee portion for our pack low. The fee schedule is as follows:

When you sign up:

When you first sign up with Pack 24 there will be a pro-rated fee, or ‘scout dues’ as we call them, as part of your registration process. Fees are calculated on a calendar-year basis (January – December) and amount to $2 per month for council + $1 per month for Boy’s Life Magazine, + $2 per month for pack dues. The total remaining months are due in-full at the time of registration.

For example, Register starting in September: $8 council + $4 Boy’s Life + $8 for the pack = $20.00 check made payable to “Pack 24”.

Annual Dues – The November Pack Meeting:

Each year we must submit to Narraganset Council our roster and paperwork, including payment in-full for the upcoming calendar year. For this reason, at our November Pack Meeting, we collect:

$33 for BSA Membership (2018 rate – $2.75 p/m)

$12 for yearly Boys’ Life Magazine Subscription

$24 for Pack dues

Covers all advancement belt loops, patches and awards, as well as other miscellaneous supplies.

This fee is not applied to Lion Scouts (Kindergarten)

$69 total due at November Pack Meeting. Checks made payable to “Pack 24”

As described in the General Information tab, scouts will meet weekly within their Dens, and monthly with the whole Pack.

Pack meetings are almost always held the 3rd Sunday of the month at 6pm.

Wearing the Cub Scout uniform will provide many benefits for your son including teaching him about equality, belonging, achievement and commitment to scouting ideals. In general, every Cub Scout should wear his uniform to all Cub Scouting activities, including den and pack meetings, unit outings, and any activities done with members of the den or pack.

Scout & Webelos Uniforms:

The blue scout uniform should be purchased for scouts 1st – 3rd grade. Make sure you buy big! These uniforms almost always last all 3 years!

The tan Webelos uniform should be purchased for scouts 4th – 5th grade. This will be your scout’s Boy Scout uniform too! Buy big and make it last!

Cost: Including all the accessories, it will cost around $75-80.Please note official uniform pants are not required. Plain blue slacks or dark blue jeans with no holes or stains are acceptable for the blue scout uniform, and dark tan or blue jeans with no holes or stains are acceptable for the Webelos uniform.

Simply put, each den begins their path toward earning their rank in September, and if all requirements are met they will be awarded their rank by June. So a 1st grader will be a “Tiger” scout, and all adventures throughout the year include required achievements that once satisfied will allow that tiger scout to receive and wear the Tiger patch on his uniform.

All scouts, regardless of age of entry, must first earn their Bobcat rank. Then they earn the rank of the grade they are in. Scouts are not required to nor can they go and earn previous ranks.

At our annual Blue and Gold Ceremony in February, all 5th grade boys receive their “Arrow of Light” rank, the highest rank in Cub Scouts. Being that as it is, they then cross over into a Boy Scout Troop and continue their patch toward Eagle with the troop. It is a bitter-sweet event where we proudly hand our cubs over to their selected troops, and only Tigers through Webelos ranks remain with us through June.

About Us

Cub Scout Pack 24 is chartered by and located in St. Theresa of the Child Jesus Parish in S. Attleboro MA, and is registered in the Boy Scouts of America Narragansett Council of South Eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island.